


A Cold Corner Furthest From The Door

by Anonymous



Series: Elia Martell Fics [8]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Divergence - Robert's Rebellion, Elia Martell-centric, F/M, Heavy Angst, Like seriously divergent, Not Beta Read, POV Elia Martell, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-14 18:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16046423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Elia Martell was born without a Mark.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language. The title came from https://hellopoetry.com/poem/2506062/from-a-windowsill/

i)

It did not take long for Elia to know she was different from all the other children. Her mother was adamant in making sure Elia would not harbour a hope that would never come true. Oberyn was a shadow, everywhere she went, he followed. Doran was a quiet, ever-present figure, who she once mistakenly referred to as father. The both of them had a greater destiny in which they would be loved unconditionally by people created by the Seven just for them. Elia had no Mark, she had no Soulmate, she had no one.

ii)

When she was seventeen, Elia left Dorne for the first time. She sailed to Oldtown and met her finest suitor. He was so gentle with her, listened to her chattering like they came from a maester, brought her different flowers each time he came to see her. Elia was soaring, so giddy with happiness she was almost willing to live in his city. Then Baelor, after hours of talks with her mother, farted. She did not really care, after all everyone farted, but Oberyn's eyes were shining unkindly in a way that filled Elia with uneasiness for the first time. In the darkest part of Elia's heart, she wondered as they left Oldtown, if her brother was sparing Baelor.

It continued the same no matter who they met, whether they were handsome, dull or had found an unsuitable Soulmate. They wanted her, a woman you could trust above all, but there were few she wanted and even fewer Oberyn would tolerate. 

The journey was wonderful though: the saltiness of sea, the rocking of the ship, her mother's attention on her instead of Doran. She ate fruits that could not survive in Dorne, pheasants, a broth made from only bones. She danced like the First Men did with their wooden flutes, she hopped daintily on her sandaled feet like the Andals, and once Oberyn and her mother's guards found drums and it was as if they were back in Dorne.

It all ended in Casterly Rock with stilted conversations, a mistreated babe, and finally humiliation. Tywin saw Elia fit only for youngest his son who was a monster in his eyes. What did that say about Elia?

iii)

Elia found out about a possible marriage to Rhaegar from Oberyn. She only laughed in response. Aerys might be mad but to give his son a sick, empty woman.... It was simply not possible until it somehow was. In a letter, written in the darkest ink, the King demanded her hand for his son. Oberyn wanted to take her to Lys as they had planned but Elia knew she could not. No one refused the King. A small part of her wondered what colour Tywin's face turned when he found out.

Rhaegar came to Dorne soon after the announcement. Immediately, he charmed everyone, even Oberyn. Elia found him cold and unhappy. She was the hostess during his stay, organizing daily feasts, showing her betrothed her home, listening to him sing the saddest songs she ever heard. Every night she battled the fear of a life that hollow and the anticipation of rising above all men and women in all the kingdoms. Yes, she was Unmarked but in spite of everything she still had worth.

iv)

Dragonstone was a desolate island. Elia worked every hour of the day to clean, decorate and enliven it but the island fought her every step of the way. Rhaegar was tightlipped in his disapproval of her colourful drapes, indoor flower gardens, paintings, and markets within the walls of the castle. 

Elia had the orphaned and poverty stricken children taken care of, forced the servants to attend weekly assemblies in the Sept, got Rhaegar to fix the harbour so they could accept more and more ships. She kissed her husband every morning, knit him cloaks and riding clothes far superior to the ones his friends wore, she brought him books Oberyn grew bored of, and consulted him before anyone else. Yet all around her they still whispered about her virtue, about the emptiness inside of her where a soul should be, about her arrogance and the lifeless way she conducted business. Worse than all of that, Rhaegar was the exact same man to her as the one she met for the first time in Dorne.

v)

Love making was something Elia looked forward to. It made her sound like the lewd women from the songs but for a long time she suspected that she might not be able to fall in love. 

"Fucking is almost like it," Oberyn said drunk after another bastard daughter. "Greatest thing imaginable."

Rhaegar was.... Elia did not know what he was. She came to him a maiden and sometimes she thought he came to her just as untouched. Sex was duty, done in the dark before her moonblood. It was pleasurable but Elia never peaked like Rhaegar did unless she used her hands. Rhaegar would hold her hands sometimes and say sweet things. Mostly she was on her knees using a bed post for support until he was done. 

"I love you," she told him once. He said nothing as expected. She said it again the next morning and then every so often, hoping for something that was unclear to her.

vi)

Elia learned of Rhaegar's inner desires by putting together the things she heard him say, the maps Connington left behind, the men who visit him under the cover of night. She waited through the pregnancy and eventual birth of Rhaenys to be told. After all, she had proved that she was the perfect wife and princess. It never came. Instead she would stumble on money missing while going over the ledgers, on Oswell Whent's sudden visit to his brother, on Tywin's cryptic letters. Then came a letter of invitation for a tourney at Harrenhal. Elia was some months pregnant but she wanted to go, wanted more pieces for what she suspected was a treasonous whole. Rhaegar did not refuse, he never refused.

The tourney was the grandest thing she ever saw. Hundreds of people everywhere you looked. Singers with all sorts of instruments, mummers with dramatic stories, a heart stopping melee, all in the first day. The King was there too, no doubt putting a hamper on Rhaegar's plans. Elia tried to help, speaking for hours with the man, putting up with his insults and his ever changing mood. Each night she went sleep imagining the clandestine meetings happening that would save Westeros from a mad man. She wondered if being queen would change her, if she could act the same in King's Landing, if she was ready for the duty. If she would be loved and remembered.

vii)

At first Elia could not tell if it was heartbreak she was feeling as the blue roses were held out in front of a girl. She would tell her closest ladies that (only if they cared to ask) but the truth, she realised later, was that she felt nothing. Rhaegar rode past her with the same indifference and named another his queen. Afterwards, while on the privy for privacy, she wondered if she had spent so much energy bringing her husband closer to his Soulmate instead of powerful and wealthy lords like she supposed. 

The feast that night was unbearable but Elia bore it anyway. Aerys was somehow the kindest, ignoring the crowning entirely and focusing on critiquing the food and music. Elia got the sense that once the shock passed, people had the same assumptions she did. After all, what better way to meet your other half than as champion of the greatest tourney? Even Elia understood. She was incapable of inspiring love and loyalty the way everyone else could. Naturally, she was not the queen of love and beauty.

Rhaegar came to their chamber before she fell asleep.

"Elia," he said.

"Yes?"

"Are you in pain?" He asked as he did every night since they left Dragonstone.

"I am not," Elia replied. Then before he blew the candles out, she said, "Let me see your Mark."

"It would not help," he said as he lifted his shirt. The Mark was as undefined as it always was. 

viii)

Elia's next birthing was as close to hell as she would experience in this world. It was not just pain but all the worst pain at once. Her blood sunk so much into the bedding forcing them to move her after the boy was born. After that Elia could not remember anything. She was told that she named the babe with Rhaegar and that she could not have another without dying. Elia thought it was more likely that Rhaegar sat far away from her unconscious body and named their son. 

She assumed her duties from her bed as much as she could. Her chamber was turned into a nursery as her health went from certain to uncertain to certain again. Only the guards Doran gave her stood outside of her door. Soon, Elia realised that her ladies and maids were unhappy and anxious around her though they refused to say why. She assumed it was because Rhaegar never bothered to see her. These days he probably spent all his time with his Kingsguards plotting against his father for the greater good of the kingdoms. Elia left him alone, instead working to fill his coffers and keep his island functioning.

(ix)

One morning, Rickard Stark sent a letter demanding to know where his daughter was.


	2. Chapter 2

x)

Even while being carried Elia's body was rocked with pain. It was too early for her to leave the bed but she needed to. Dragonstone was too close to Storm's End and she would make a very good hostage against Dorne. They escaped at night on merchant ships and sailed for Dorne. The King would also be looking for her in case Doran took Rhaegar’s insult to heart so the ships keep close to the Essosi coastline.

Pain was the worst of it, though the maester her ladies had cajoled into coming would say it was the fever. Elia burned up unendingly. Days and nights melted together. She forgot her name and her children and had vivid dreams of dragons choking on sand glass. When Elia came to, she learned that they stopped at a harbour thinking she was only moments from death. Her speech was slurred, words would not come out as she intended and her hearing had deteriorated.

Amy from a poor Vale House had stayed in her cabin, pressing cool rags on Elia's body and talking to Elia as if she was not an invalid. Elia did not know if it was the Mother or Amy's steadfastness but she started regaining her wits and her body.

xi)

Sunspear was like a glass of cool water after years of thirst. Oberyn lifted Elia onto a litter. He walked awkwardly alongside it as she clung to his body and wept. Elia caught a glimpse of Doran's lined face before she entered her home at last. Maester Caleotte had her brought to her old room with the iron braziers and the nets covering her windows to keep out dust and insects. He gave her milk of poppy sending her into a dreamless sleep unlike the fitful ones she had while on the sea.

When Elia woke, she was stitched again, given mostly foul smelling and tasting potions, and broths with softened vegetables. Septa Jeyne now with grey hair bathed Elia's body and kissed her gently on her forehead while Elia cried, overcome with memories of a childhood that seemed so blissful.

Doran came at night. He did not treat her as if a great affliction fall on her. Instead he spoke up his rule, his troubles with the absent Mellario, his headstrong Arianne. Anything but Rhaegar and war until Aerys sent a letter.

"I will not fight for the man who dishonored you," Doran declared. 

"Let them squabble among themselves," Oberyn said cheerlessly. "What do we care about northern affairs?"

"Send the army," Elia said. "My children are Targaryens by blood-"

"They are Martells, Elia," Oberyn said gently. "They have a place here."

"I know but if we remove ourselves from this and Robert wins the war, he will come after Aegon," Elia said. 

"Can we trust Rhaegar not to discard you?" Doran asked.

"He already has," Oberyn snarled. "Him and that Stark girl. Look at how our sister came to us barely alive. You still think he cares about her or the children?"

"Oberyn," Doran said coldly.

"It's alright." Elia was trying to hard not to cry. It seemed like that was all she was capable of these days. "He's telling the truth. Rhaegar does not care about me or the children but the throne is their inheritance and without it they would not be safe. Call the banners, brother."

xii)

No one outside of Sunspear knew Elia was there. Aerys would claim he had her and then accuse Doran of hiding her in Dorne but when he got his Dornish spears, fifteen thousand men, he proclaimed them the most honorable among his subjects. Then he accused them of fighting only for his grandchild. Doran and Oberyn began discussing something they did not want to share with her.

Elia could feed her babe again. She could sit and sleep on her back without bleeding or much pain. Each day Rhaenys was brought to her and they spent hours talking. The past few months have been confusing to the child. For a while she wet herself in her sleep. The conversations were about as many topics as a two year old could imagine and more often than not Elia had to decipher what her daughter was saying but it made the both of them more contented. Rhaenys soon began to look at Aegon with curiosity instead of resentment. They slept on the same bed most nights with Rhaenys burying her head into Elia's neck or gripping her upper arm. Elia could understand Rhaegar's dissatisfaction with her but leaving Rhaenys she could not.

Robert was winning his battles. In Elia's mind, he was a giant of a man with a bloody smile sweeping through soldiers like a hot knife through butter. Then Ashford happed, suddenly he was a man again. They could beat if they were smart about it. Elia knew Doran was sending ravens, making promises he had no right making. She signed the letters anyway, holding Aegon while Rhaenys played with her cousin. The purity of Targaryen blood be damned.

xiii)

Tywin Lannister marched out of The Rock with a host smaller than the Dornish one. He fell upon the rebels as they were leaving the south and drove them east before continuing to King's Landing. Robert's men beat back Mace Tyrell. For one glorious week, Elia believed the man had died in that battle but he resurfaced. Doran believed he would go north to regroup with Eddard Stark and win over Hoster Tully.

"Tully has two grown daughters," Elia said. "Aegon's merely a babe. We can't offer them anything."

"He has not replied to any of my letters. He must believe despite our numbers, we will lose."

"They are winning their battles," Oberyn said shrugging. 

"We need Rhaegar."

Oberyn grimaced. "What can he do? Let Tywin lead the King's armies and leave that fool to his northern mare."

"People love Rhaegar. If they thought he did this because the girl is his other half-"

"She's not," Elia spoke up. "He showed his Mark to me."

Doran looked vaguely disgusted but not surprised. "Matters not. As long as they believe it, he'll be forgiven."

Oberyn shook his head. "He knows there's a war and he still hasn't shown his ugly hide. Let our uncle and Tywin end the rebellion." 

"It is time you joined the men at King's Landing," Doran said to Oberyn. "Lewyn is tied to the King. There are certain actions he cannot undertake."

Oberyn's reply was a sharp grin. Elia's heartbeat started beating fast at that.

Robert's forces joined Jon Arryn's at Riverrun. Robert married the eldest girl who was Brandon Stark's betrothed. Elia wondered how the girl felt. Just a year ago she was tied to the North's heir, now she was wife to a man they are calling king. The Tyrells were besieging the unprotected Storm's End. Oberyn had left Dorne with his poisons. 

Connington was marching with a large army. Though Elia disliked the man, she prayed fervently for him to cut off Robert's head clean. At Harrenhal the two armies met. It was fierce with soldiers fighting in the abandoned towers, spilling blood where nearly two years ago they convened happily under a single king. Connington died, Elia heard, surrounded on all sides. The death toll was high as the King's army fled back to the Crownlands. 

"You won't give them my children," Elia told Doran unable to sleep. "You will not. I don't care who they threaten or what they will do. I'll go to Essos for the rest of my life if I have to."

"You have my word," Doran replied.

xiv)

Rhaegar reappeared a few leagues from King's Landing. He did not have the Stark girl with him. Doran received a letter asking about Elia and the children as if he knew she was there. Elia was suddenly gripped by a cold fury.

"The Daynes. It wasn't just Arthur like we assumed," she whispered. "Doran, what if she's in Starfall?"

"I can't simply send an army. Anders Yronwood's sister has wed to that family," Doran said pensively. "I'll send Areo. Vorian Dayne is under the impression that my captain is a lumbering oaf. He'll find that girl and bring her to Sunspear."

"What will happen to her?"

"Nothing. If her brother decides to go to war with Dorne, she'll be a hostage. If we win, she'll be returned as a show of goodwill." Doran sighed and stared out of the window. "Do you wish to see the letter?"

"No." It was too short and only meant to rattle Doran.

"I am sorry," Doran said after a while. "Mother and I thought we had made the best possible choice for you. We thought you would be comfortable. That one day you would be as happy as she once was with our father."

"You could not have known. I lived with him and I can't explain his actions." There was something in those scrolls Rhaegar was so protective over that would bring meaning to all of this but did it matter anymore? "I'll be happy. If I go back, I'll make sure of it. At least until Aegon is a man. Then I’ll come back here."

The following morning, the castle woke up to the news of Aerys' death. Somehow, despite seeing the man's gaunt appearance in Harrenhal, Elia did not think he passed away in his sleep.

"You are Queen," Septa Jeyne said delighted.

"If Rhaegar doesn't set me aside," Elia replied grimly. Her mother would be horrified but Elia did not mind the idea of living in Sunspear until the end of her days.

Rhaegar rode to the Riverlands wearing his father's crown in an armor Elia commissioned years before, with Oberyn and Tywin at his side.

The war ended at the Acorn Hall with Robert's death though the rebels kept fighting all the way to Riverrun. The castle was sacked. Hoster Tully and his young son were executed. The northerners fled to Moat Cailin. Jon Arryn died buying time for his cousin to reach the Bloody Gate. 

Elia had focused so much on Robert's death that she did not think of what would happen to the rebels. For short while she thought Catelyn Tully was killed too. It turned out that she had been forced to drink moon tea laced with tansy and then kept in a room with her sister. A part of Elia wondered if any of this would have happened had she been born right like her siblings. She knew she was not the only one who thought so.

"We will wait for him to ask for your return," Doran said pleased with the outcome. "No need for public humiliation in case he decides otherwise. After that Oberyn and Tywin will inform the lords and knights about how you had to flee Dragonstone half dead from child birth-"

"Why would Tywin do that?"

"We have promised Aegon to his granddaughter should he have one. Rhaegar will likely push for your children to marry one another. It's important we weaken him as much as we can to push him where we want him to be."

"Tywin knows him best out of all I suppose," Elia said. "I don't know if it will help. Rhaegar does whatever he wants."

"Then we are making sure you have all the sympathy in the world whether he keeps you or not." Doran kissed Aegon's head. "Your children are Dornish too. The threat from the Blackfyres has only ended recently. We will use everything we can. The realm will not tolerate another mad king."

xv)

Elia went to King's Landing on a warship. Doran increased the number of Dornish guards and asked Areo to follow her after Starfall yielded nothing. Dornish and Lannister soldiers cheered her litter as it passed by them. Oberyn had been feeding the city's poor in her name and soon they were throwing flowers on the paths she was using while yelling her children's names.

Rhaella was standing beside her son as thin as Elia remembered. She was the one Elia paid the most attention to as Rhaegar pressed a warm kiss on her hand and tried to hug Rhaenys who shied away and clung to Elia's legs.

"Your Grace," Tywin said as if they were meeting for the first time.

"Lord Tywin," Elia replied.

Rhaella was an exhausted woman who could not organise the coronation. Elia was only happy to do herself. She spent a year or so recovering. Doran had allowed her to run his household after the boredom became too much to bear. King's Landing was much larger than Dragonstone and the Red Keep was busier. There were many lords and knights who needed accommodations in the castle and around it. Not to mention the armies would remain until the celebrations were over. 

More servants had to be hired as most had either died, been imprisoned or left the keep for their own safety. Elia knitted her children's clothes personally but left Rhaegar's to his mother. She had the finest wine brought from Oldtown for the feasts. The streets were cleaned and decorated. Most hours of the day were spent doing the castellan’s work as the previous one had been executed for treason. She had the Red Keep and the Sept scrubbed clean. Positions that were vacated were filled with Dornish men and women. Everything associated with Aerys was thrown out or locked away. Burn marks were covered with carpets and drapes. New ladies in waiting were arriving each other from loyalists. 

"Will your mother go to Dragonstone?" Elia asked one of the few times she was alone with Rhaegar.

"It is what she wants," Rhaegar answered. "Once Stannis Baratheon surrenders, she'll leave with Viserys."

It rained on the day of coronation, though that did not stop thousands from watching. Elia held Aegon as the High Septon crowned Rhaegar and was reluctant to let him go as her crown was brought forward. Her crown was made of bronze with the Martell sigil inscription, adorned with black diamonds, emeralds and rubies.

The feast was loud, chaotic and went off as planned. Oberyn was in his element, flitting between tables and conversations with enviable ease. Elia joined him briefly before returning to the head table. She was not a Princess any longer, she had to withhold her presence as much as possible. Rhaegar stayed on his seat, speaking with Tywin and the other council members only. Occasionally, he would make a toast. When it was over, Elia went to her chamber to find her children sleeping.

xvi)

The Stark girl died. Elia did not believe someone that young and strong would die from an illness like a fever. Perhaps the child she bore Rhaegar died with her because Rhaegar did not mention a bastard. He was miserable, far more than usual. After the news came with the return of the Kingsguards, he spent a day in his chamber. Elia brought flowers for Rhaenys and Rhaella from the new gardens, fed Aegon, walked aimlessly with Viserys after his lessons and spent the afternoon with the new castellan, Kevin Lanny. At night she wrote an innocuous letter of condolence and had the body sent north. 

"You had no right," Rhaegar hissed when he found out.

"You had none either," Elia said before returning to her sewing. "Her family is in the North." She pricked her fingers repeatedly. They would not stop shaking. "Anyway, you said you would negotiate with them-“

"In due time! They would surrender and then they would receive the body."

"What would bones mean to them when you should have returned the girl while she lived?" Elia said flatly. "I spoke to your Hand about it. If you want, you can send a raven to the twins to intercept the coffin."

"It's in the North by now," Oberyn said days later while they drank tea together. 

“Let that be the end of it.”

"Do you lay with your husband?"

Elia surprised by the question choked a little. "Yes." She screwed her eyes shut and waited for it to be over each time. "Why?"

"You are getting fat."

Elia shook her head horrified. "I drink moon tea afterwards. Always."

"And your moonblood?"

It had not yet come but after the damage Aegon did, Elia did not expect it to for a while. "Don't frighten me like that."

"Your husband wants a third child," Oberyn said. "Tywin told me that Rhaegar has asked about Cersei. We're fortunate Tywin favours a granddaughter as queen over his daughter as mistress otherwise.... Why he doesn't go to any brothel I don't understand?" Oberyn drained his cup. "Maybe in a few years...."

"If I fall pregnant again, I will die," Elia told him.

After Oberyn left, Elia undressed and studied her stomach. It was round but not like how it was with Rhaenys or Aegon. Men could be mistaken for thinking so which would explain why Rhaegar had not touched her in weeks. Perhaps she could make him hope that she was not barren for a while for all the good that would do.

A month later, Rhaegar came unexpectedly to her chamber and laid a tentative hand on her shoulder. Since she lost the weight and got her moonblood, she knew what he was assuming.

"I am sorry," he said.

"Thank you," Elia replied. She went back to her letters.

"Elia," he said after a while, "do you remember what I said about Aegon's song?"

Elia stopped and thought about it. "No."

"When we named him?"

"I don't remember. I was sick."

He closed his eyes. "I explained myself to you. I thought you understood. You said you did."

"I was sick," Elia repeated.

Rhaegar was not listening. "I thought it’s the war that upsets you but you truly don't know why.... It had been so easy, I could not believe it."

"What was?"

Rhaegar seemed to remember she was there. "I.... I'll tell you another time perhaps."

Elia put her quill away. "Tell me now."

"No, no, you should be resting."

"If I understood then, I'll understand it now," Elia said firmly. She took his hand and held it between hers for the first time in two years. "Tell me."

With relief, he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tone is different which is why I almost posted it as a separate story. Tell me what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of drabbles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes.

i)

Rhaegar's story was fantastical. His eyes were shinning, his whole body was alive with gestures, his voice was both lighter and somber. Rhaegar did everything like it was a duty, there was no joy except in his harp and even then it was less joy and more pleasure-seeking melancholy. For the first he seemed like he enjoyed his own existence, he enjoyed the journey to fulfilling this prophecy of his. He dreaded it too but also looked forward to defending the realms of men. And Elia believed not a single part of it. She smiled, told him she was grateful to be in his confidence and wistfully wondered what role she would play.

"Oh Elia," Rhaegar said clutching her hand desperately. "You've already done so much. I was told you pushed for Doran send much of his army. For that alone I'll forever be grateful. Now that I know I have your support, I can continue preparing for it."

"My love," Elia said softly, "we must be open with one another. We are tied in the eyes of all deities. Don't bear the burden alone."

"You're not angry anymore,” Rhaegar said with astonished relief. “I should have said it sooner." Rhaegar kissed the back of her hand. "I expected you to call me mad, Lyanna did after a while.... That's twice now that you have understood. Elia."

He kissed her on her lips and began removing her clothes until he remembered the miscarriage she did not have.

ii)

The children were a handful. Aegon was learning to run and went wherever his heart wanted to go. Rhaenys was more interested in climbing up. Elia's heart must have given up several times a week. Even with an increasing number of vigilant nurses, there were moments when one or both children disappeared.

It got worse as the years wore on. At least quiet Daenerys provided a distraction when she wanted to. She would trail behind her niece or her nephew on most days, play whatever games they wanted and if they ran off while the nurses were distracted, she would stomp her little feet and demand another game. Rhaegar loved his little sister more than anyone else. He called her Visenya privately and was as ecstatic over the friendship the three children formed as he was capable of. Viserys watched his siblings with confused sadness.

iii)

Elia's new ladies-in-waiting were not to be trusted. She knew this yet she enjoyed their company. Between Tywin's council meetings, Rhaegar's fervent search for dragon eggs and her children's education, Elia was in desperate need for the light hearted gossip told while they sewed clothes. 

She ate syrupy raspberries while listening to them describe a peasant woman's arrangement with two men. They had a few musicians brought to one of the smaller halls and spent an afternoon dancing with one another. On the hotter days of the summer, Elia took them to caves under the Red Keep where many of the dragon skulls were kept. Behind Rhaegar and Rhaella's backs, they carpeted and draped the cool space and spent many afternoons relaxing as salty, cooling air whistled above them. They were not Elia's friends but it was so easy forgetting sometimes.

When Aegon turned five, a tourney was held in King's Landing in his honor. Some of the defeated rebels came. One of them was a hedge knight from the Vale with a rakish smile he directed at Elia every time she saw him and she saw him often. There were three nights of feasts, melees and jousts during the day, and he was in all of them. Elia found out that his name was Henry from a common family in Gulltown. For one stupid moment, she thought he would come to ask for her favour before riding out against Barristan Selmy.

Henry lost his match and that night he limped into the Great Hall with the same smile. He came to the head table, bowed to Rhaegar. His eyes were as dark as his hair, darker than she thought they were and they were filled with warmth, mirth and, for a second when Rhaegar and Arthur had turned away, desire. Elia knew that she could claim to have a headache and sneak away to the caves, that it was only right that she would have one night of pleasure, that there was an unfamiliar, heady feeling in her chest she should follow. Then Rhaegar brushed his hand on her fingers and Elia pushed that urge down and smiled politely at the knight.

A few months later, Henry was on one of the three training yards in King's Landing that Elia had built for knights without House loyalty. She saw him from the balcony walking in with his old armor. Elia tried not to stare at him particularly. Fortunately, Henry stayed close to the other men, moving from group to group so she seemed alert more than anything else. She fought a smile until she was hidden inside her litter. Every few weeks, Elia toured the training yards and whichever yard she visited, Henry was there too, along with every other knight trying to gain her support.

Whenever Rhaegar shared a bed with Elia, she would close her eyes and imagine dark eyes looking at her with genuine love.

iv)

Elia's domain was King's Landing. Rhaegar worked on ruling the seven kingdoms and she ruled over the capital. There were food tables in the slums several times a week, increasing in occurrence during the terrible winter that followed the war. Four new orphanages were opened after a surge of refugees took over the city. They were mostly Rhaella's patrons though the two of them would go over the costs together. Elia spent half the day in her solar. She received many of her guests and did women’s work with her ladies-in-waiting in there. Sometimes she went to council meeting, usually before Rhaegar left the city so as to take on some of his duties.

Tywin Lannister was a prickly, insecure, vainglorious man who thought he won the war for Rhaegar. No one else on the council would directly oppose him except Elia. It wasn't that she had more steel than the other men, it's that she could not be dismissed from queenship. The taxes Tywin wanted to impose in the rebel regions could easily stroke resentment that Aegon would pay for in his adulthood. While leaving them unpunished would send the wrong message, being vindictive would emboldened them. The two of them agreed that the best solution was blood taxes held by loyalists. Only children from surviving great Houses would come to King’s Landing. Every time Rhaegar returned with his peace banner, he brought children with him. 

Rhaenys was proving to have a keen mind. She studied without complaint, reading and writing better than Daenerys, Aegon and Viserys. Daenerys and Aegon picked up languages quicker and were far more charming than Viserys and Rhaenys. Elia had tried to push the outgoing children towards the latter and the quiet, obedient towards the former but the children gravitated to whoever they liked and their personalities remained unchanged as they grew.

The biggest task Elia wanted to undertake was the cleanliness of the city. Sometimes, entire pathways would be blocked by rubbish and feces. Daily cleaning by hundreds of paid residents made a dent in the pollution but it was not enough. For that she looked to the free cities after Oberyn's suggestions. They hosted populations comparable to King's Landing and they kept their cities as tidy as possible.

"They have slaves," Rhaegar pointed out.

Elia looked up from the plans drawn up by Essosi architects. "It's the piping that we need."

"It will change the entire city. It will be too much work. The costs alone-"

"Didn't you read the scrolls the Free Thinkers wrote? This city has diseases we can prevent-"

"The smallfolk won't love you for this," Rhaegar warned.

Elia had been worried about that. For now she had their love. She fed them, before winter she had many of them clothed, her brothers helped bring ships to the harbour and she did her duty to the King. Elia would have to announce it carefully. 

Early in the morning a week later, on all parts of the city, pages declared that more sewers would be built under the city. Some houses would be demolished for that, walls would be taken down or reinforced for pipes. The aim was to ensure that they all lived in dignity and to prevent sickness from spreading. At noon, Elia exhaled when there was no sign of rioting. Tywin's face was severe as the Master of Coin used the surplus from the treasury to fund the project. Dozens of skilled workers arrived each day from Braavos, Meereen and Myr.

v)

Rhaegar moved into Elia's apartment one day. His clothes were in her wardrobe, his longer and bigger copper tub was next to hers. Elia slept on the left side instead of the middle, often she would wake up in the dark to find the blanket cocooning Rhaegar. He would kiss her in the morning and they would eat breakfast with the children. Elia did it all with a smile because it made the children happy. It became routine like cleaning her teeth or using the privy. They held hands in public, she brought flowers to him if she had any left, and they fucked often enough.

"I am glad we found happiness with each other," Rhaegar told her one day while sweat cooled on their skin.

Elia realised suddenly that he was happy. It was a marked contrast from the early years of their marriage. He reached out easier, smiled and laughed a little more, he was energized and his songs were less doomed. Maybe it was because his father's shadow had shrunk to nothing and the rebellion was years behind him. Elia did not know but she knew she found happiness in her children, work and her brothers' visits. 

"I love you," she said as always. When she kissed him, she imagined the green eyes and plump lips of one of her ladies.

The tourney on Rhaenys' tenth name day was large. The hostages sat in the same stand as the royal family with Rhaenys at the front. A troupe of mummers performed first, swallowing swords and spitting fire. Elia wished she saved them for last as the jousting dragged on. Finally Arthur knocked Jaime Lannister off his horse. Arthur trotted to the other end of the field for a crown of flowers. Elia glanced at Rhaenys in anticipation. Instead Arthur's lance stopped in front of Elia and for a very brief moment, she was seized with fury. She took it as the crowd roared. Later that evening, she put it on Rhaenys’ head and went to the feast with her crown of jewels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Elia obsession is cooling off. I wrote like 45k+ words in 2 months. I'll finish the other fic and it might be awhile before I start another story. Then again there's the Elia Fanworks Week so who knows.

**Author's Note:**

> I wonder if I should just leave it or if I should write a second chapter. That depends on whether I chose to follow the TV show and its annulment plot, or the books.
> 
> Anyway tell me what you think.


End file.
